Torn

by Chris Jordan

Book Overview

In a small New York town, a deranged man holds over one hundred schoolchildren hostage... With the SWAT team about to go in, the gymnasium suddenly explodes in flames. Fortunately, all the students... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 077832575X
• Release Date: February 2009
• Publisher: Mira
• Length: 360 Pages
• Weight: 0.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 6.6" x 1.0" x 4.2"

Customer Reviews

Third nail-biter in a row from the master of suspense!

You don't need to have read the first two Randall Shane novels (Taken and Trapped) to enjoy this latest child-abduction thriller from Chris Jordan, the pseudonym of prolific author Rodman Philbrick. All you need to know is laid out in each book: Shane is a former FBI operative who specializes in tracking down missing kids. Although each in the "T" series is ingeniously plotted, the third Shane volume is one of the most original and fresh novels of suspense I've ever read, with a truly unique twist. It's a hard book to put down (or to listen to, as I enjoyed the Audio CDs read by the superb Coleen Marlo and Sean Runnette). It's an absorbing read from beginning to end, making one salivate for the next entry in the series. It's a stunner.

This book sure isn't to be taken seriously, but...

It's one heck a lot of fun!! You pretty much know the story if you've read the previous two reviews. However, I found it to be 100% tongue-in-cheek and many of the various chapter titles make this obvious.Still, this is an inside picture of the workings of a major cult and in the case of this one the seeds of its own eventual destruction are evident. The cult teaches giving in to absolute self-serving greed and manipulation. So of course, what's going to happen when push comes to shove? It's every man and woman for him or her self, and no fellow cult member is to be trusted.This is rp roaring pulp fiction, but I did find the ending very disappointing. There's just too much that isn't convncingly explaned. However, don't let that stop you from reading it if you enjoy taut action writing. I especially recommend this to those who enjoy J.T. Ellison's books and the type.

T is for terrific

In Humble, New York, Police Chief Leo Gannett gives the elementary school students a DARE talk. Roland Penny enters the school and shoots the cop in the head. He informs the teachers and students he has a bomb. Through cell phones pictures and text messages get to the outside until a smoke bomb is set off. Teacher Irene Delancey tells her favorite student ten year old Noah Corbin to hide in the air duct. Soon afterward all the hostages except Noah are free when the building explodes. Six weeks later, Noah's mother widow Haley is the only one who believes her son is alive and was abducted by his powerful paternal grandfather Arthur Conklin and his Rulers. Everyone else assumes he died in the blast as some blood of his was found. She hires retired FBI agent Randall Shane whose life mission is rescuing children, but he refuses to take on the job without checking out a few things as he doubts the lad still lives. Not long afterward though he still has doubts, he agrees to take on the hunt as too many anomalies starting with the DNA lab losing Noah's tissue remains and Mrs. Delancey missing and being a Wall St. roller just before teaching at Humble Elementary. If the kid lives, he is somewhere inside the compound near Conklin, Colorado; a place with tighter security than the White House has. The third Randall Shane child rescue thriller (see TAKEN and TRAPPED) is T for terrific as his investigation with some help from his FBI friends begins tearing apart a splintering cult's abduction of the dying founder's grandson. The story line is action-packed even before the hero appears and never slows down as the final confrontation occurs. Although the climax is over the top of the Rocky Mountains where it occurs, fans will enjoy Shane's latest caper as he gets his usual no sleep while wondering will he come back this time. Harriet Klausner

4.5 Stars: Fascinating, creepy modern twist on the classic fanatical cult theme

Already reeling from the death of her husband, Haley Corbin faces a mother's worst nightmare when the her son alongside over 100 other schoolchilden are taken hostage by a madman. As the SWAT team plans to enter, suddenly the gymnasium explodes. When every child escapes except her son Noah, Haley frantically searches for clues. Was her son killed? Did he wander away? Or is there some other more nefarious explanation for her son's disappearance? Should she heed the ominous statement made by her husband in the days preceding his death? Was her son kidnapped? Desperate to find real answers, Haley hires ex-FBI agent Randall Shane. Randall isn't sure what to make of Haley. Is she merely a mother unable to accept the death of her son as so many claim? The more he investigates, the more he uncovers eerie coincidences and alliances between the people at the scene of the gym explosion. As the Haley and Randall join forces, the trail leads to a remote area in the Rocky Mountains to a fanatical cult whose wealth and power extends way beyond the reach of their hidden compound. Haley and Randall must race to uncover the truth behind Noah's disappearance and protect their lives as well. The cult will do anything to maintain power and hide its secrets. Chris Jordan's TORN is a fast paced thriller with a fascinating modern twist on the classic fanatical cult theme. The mysterious unsettling prologue sets the scene for the strangeness that underlies the heart of the cult's desperation. Chris Jordan writes these one sentences at the end of a scene or chapter that chill to the bone. Chris Jordan's characterization of Haley Corbin as a woman with emotion without overdoing it makes her a refreshing and active part of the investigation. Despite the grief that infuses her life, she is intelligent and highly competent. In his portrayal of Noah and the mother and child bond, Chris Jordan reaches the perfect balance without being too sappy, sentimental or too cute. One scene towards the end is wonderfully twisted. After such a wonderful pace throughout the novel, the ending feels a little rushed in the final action scene. Even though action is action and requires a fast pace to achieve a certain effect, Chris Jordan seems to skip over what he does best in the quickening of the pace. This author has such a talent for writing very chilling scenes in a sentence or in a quiet moment, that I can't help but think that the final movement towards resolution might have been ripe for inclusion of what he does so well to build additional mind-chilling suspense. Chris Jordan's TORN will appeal to suspense lovers who prefer intrigue over violent shocking crime details, to readers who prefer a clever puzzle that unfolds through an examination of clues and connections over the serial killer thriller in the suspense genre. Creepy and twisted in a more subtle way, Chris Jordan examines a side of the modern wealth culture turned extreme and values often considere